Stars and Bars

We're all for pride of place, but do Bo and Luke really need their own holiday?

Just four days after enjoying a three-day weekend honoring Martin Luther King, Texas State Employees can take the day off work today to celebrate another breed of martyrs — our Confederate Heroes.

That's right, January 19th is Confederate Heroes Day, and it has been an official state holiday since 1931.

This year, the holiday also falls two days after Governor Rick Perry's inaugural ball, which featured Ted Nugent sporting a Confederate flag t-shirt.

We'd like to think that Texas is a bit more, uh, civilized than some of our Confederacy-glorifying Southern neighbors -- Arkansas actually combines the birthdays of Robert E. Lee and MLK into one bizarre day of remembrance — but this week, unfortunately, we're not so sure. — Julia Youssefnia